I only started reading the Harry Potter series when there were already five books out. I consider this a blessing because at least I didn't have to wait for years for the story to progress, unlike those who started with the first when it came out. I would've gone crazy with all the waiting.

I got the last book the day it was released and thankfully there wasn't a long line around the block. The first thing I checked was the epilogue: I wanted to see if the leaked version was correct and sadly, it was. The majority of my weekend was spent in my room with the book, I rotated on my bed as the day wore on, trying to get the best light from the window.

Deathly Hallows is very fast-paced. It had to be, Harry had to search for four more Horcruxes with only the riddles Dumbledore left him as his clues. It was fascinating to read about the trio becoming adults - having more responsibilities, facing graver danger, and learning much complicated magic. Harry becomes much more mature - wiser, calmer, more reasonable. Hermione remains to be the best in spells, often the one to get them out of sticky situations. Ron is much braver, ten times more courageous than he was in the other books.

There were a lot of very powerful moments in the book that touched and awed me, and even more scenes that made me sad (there's a pretty high death count). I cried a lot while reading , and the fact that this is the last one in the series didn't help. Most of the questions from the last five books were finally answered (Snape: Good/Bad?, Ron/Hermione: Y/N?, Harry: Horcrux/No? etc) and as expected, there were some that were never fully explained.

I would've liked for the book to go on and on and on, up until they all die of natural deaths, read about how they get on with their lives after Hogwart's. To have been given a glimpse of how they are 19 years later didn't really help much, to be honest. In fact, the epilogue is the only thing that I didn't really like in the book. The rest of it was gold.

To be this sad over a book is not normal, I know. But then again, I'm not a normal person.

always juicy.

Current Location: office
Current Mood: blah

My mother has always talked about how she wanted to go abroad. That she wants to live somewhere else, see the world now that all her children are old enough to fend for their selves. I listen to her talk, her eyes far away, her shoulders falling up and down as she sighs. I file these conversations under the 'if only' category, piling them in that precious box inside my head, meant for wishes and hopes I have for myself and my family. 

If only I was a size six, if only my poop turns into gold, if only I win the lottery, if only our last name was Ayala. 

So last night when I got home, I went in her room to check if she's finished packing all her stuff. She was upbeat, excited to be going away by herself. Once inside my room, I laid down for a while and turned on my TV. Then my mother walked in and sat on my bed, buried her face in my tummy and cried. 

Her crying is just downright ludicrous because 1) she's the one who planned the whole thing 2) it's only for a few weeks, two months tops. When I asked her why she was crying, she said it's because she wouldn't be able to see us. But there's e-mail and YM, I told her. I didn't see her this morning when she left for the airport, but that's just as well. Because for sure, she'd go all emotional again and actually seeing her leave would just make me cry myself. 

I got the drama queen genes from her, obviously. I'll miss her so much but I know she'd have a good time in Macau, shopping her heart out. =) 

*** 

Spent the weekend by the beach. Finally, after two years, I got to see the ocean again. I love it. I don't have a tan though because it rained on and off when we were there. Spent most of the evening drinking and playing pusoy dos with my sister and brother-in-law. Going 120 on the highway was one of the highlights, definitely - that was a first for me. And even if my brother, with his head out the window while screaming "ANG SARAP NG HANGIN!", was completely juvenile, I laughed so loud with my mom, who sat on the passenger seat, barking driving precautions at me all the way to Laiya, Batangas. 

*** 

Since everybody seems to be leaving me, one way or the other, here's one of my current favourite songs. 

All the same 
Sick Puppies 
I don't mind where you come from 
As long as you come to me 
I don't like illusions I can't see 
Them clearly 

I don't care no I wouldn't dare 
To fix the twist in you 
You've shown me eventually 
What you'll do 

I don't mind... 
I don't care... 
As long as you're here 

Go ahead tell me you'll leave again 
You'll just come back running 
Holding your scarred heart in hand 
It's all the same 
And I'll take you for who you are 
If you take me for everything 
Do it all over again 
It's all the same 

Hours slide and days go by 
Till you decide to come 
And in between it always seems too long 
All of a sudden 
And I have the skill, yeah I have the will 
To breathe you in while I can 
However long you stay Is all that I am 

I don't mind... 
I don't care... 
As long as you're here 

Go ahead tell me you'll leave again 
You'll just come back running 
Holding your scarred heart in hand 
It's all the same 
And I'll take you for who you are 
If you take me for everything 
Do it all over again 
It's always the same 

Wrong or right 
Black or white 
If I close my eyes 
It's all the same 
In my life 
The compromise 
I close my eyes 
It's all the same 

Go ahead say it you're leaving 
You'll just come back running 
Holding your scarred heart in hand 
It's all the same 
And I'll take you for who you are 
If you take me for everything 
Do it all over again 
It's all the same

Tags: family
Current Location: Office
Current Mood: sad
Current Music: Holding on, Citizen Cope